By
Alex Smith |
The port of Riga in Latvia has welcomed the arrival of its 10 millionth passenger, Tanja Cassandra Karina Bittner from Weiherhammer, Germany, onboard Costa Cruises’ Costa Fascinosa.
The Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis, the chairman of the Freeport of Riga Board Viesturs Zeps, and CEO of the Freeport of Riga Authority Ansis Zeltiņš welcomed Bittner, her husband Christian and 8-year-old son Paul as they disembarked. Guests were also greeted by a concert from Latvian band Da Gamba at the berth.
Bittner and her family received their own evening programme, which was arranged as a gift by the Freeport of Riga Authority. A sightseeing tour visited Old Riga and the Central Market, before the family was treated to a festive dinner at the historic House of the Blackheads.
“All evening I felt like I was in a fairy tale!” said Bittner. “We will definitely come back to Riga again.”
A total of 8,200 passenger calls have been made in Riga since 2000, 6,600 of which were from ferries and 1,600 from cruise ships. Approximately 88 per cent of all guests were ferry passengers, while 12 per cent were cruise passengers from a total of more than 124 countries. More than 100 cruise calls are scheduled for Riga in 2022, a record for the port in a single cruise season.